An education charity has accused England’s top comprehensives of admitting disproportionate numbers of better-off children.

The Sutton Trust analysed the intakes of 500 comprehensive schools with the highest GCSE results and found that 7.6 per cent of pupils were from poor families. This is less than half the national average: 16.5 per cent of children are entitled to free school meals.

The report accused most of England’s leading comprehensives of using “social selection” by taking pupils from more affluent areas. Sir Peter Lampl, the trust’s chairman, called for schools to award places by random ballots.